Separable fastener locking member



Feb. 23, 1932. B CK 1,846,920

SEPARABLE FASTENER LOCKING MEMBER Filed July 11, 1929 INVEN TOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES v1 A' 1r.1-rr OFFICE.-

GIDEON SUNDBAOK, OF IEADVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HOOKLESS PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN I 'ASTENEB COMPANY, OI MEADVILLE, SILVA-KIA SEPABABLE FASTENEE LOCKING Original application. filed August 2, 1926, Serial No. 126,539. Divided and this application'filed July 11, 1929. Serial No. 377,361.

This invention relates to separable fastener locking members of the type disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 126,539, filed August 2, 1926, of which this application is a division, and is directed principally to improvements upon the bent wire locking members disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 735,574, filed September 3, 1924, of which this application is a contmuationin art.

The ob ect of the invention is to increase the strength and holding power of bent wire locking members, to reduce their weight and bulk, and to construct such members of less metal and in fewer forming operations than heretofore, with substantial savings in cost.

The locking members disclosed in my ap-' plication Serial No. 735,574, filed September 3, 1924, are made of ordinary wire of round or other cross-section cut off to the desired length bent to U-shape, deformed at the bend to provide locking surfaces, and having the legs formed to clamp the members on the corded stringer. These locking members are uniformly strong and durable in use, are lighter than previous locking members of equal strength, and are cheaper to prpduce because they require fewer forming operations and leave less waste than heretofore. For certain uses, however, bent wire lockin%members of uniform cross-section have insu cient material to supply the desired stifiness to hold upon the stringer, and insufiicient material at the bend to permit locking sur-' faces of the desired configuration to be formed from the material available. This is particularly true in thexcase of fasteners applied to womens apparel t-where the tendency to light weight is pronounced. If such locking members are made strong enough towithstand continued hard usage their weight be comes objectionable 'and can be reduced only by impairing strength and holding power.

The presentinvention provides a special construction of wire lockin members, some of which are bent to provi e hook-like projections and others of which are bent to provide recesses, all bein formed b die operations from straight wlre, ready or compression upon the tape. The ends of both the projection and recess members are reduced and are adapted to be bent or wrapped around the corded edge of the tape. This construction gives the members increased strength and v holding power while reducing their sizeand plied.

The invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in

which: 7 v

Fig. 1 shows one embodiment of my invention in a partially closed fastener;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; v

Fig. 3 shows the projection member of Fig. 1 after being partially formed;

Fi 4 shows the finished ber c amped upon a cord;

Fig. 5 is a side view of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 shows the recess member of Fig. 1 partially formed;

Fig. 7 shows the wire blank from which either member is made;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the blank shown in Fig. 7

Fig. 9 shows the finished recess member clamped upon a cord;

Fig. 10 shows cooperating locln'ng members of the form shown in Fig. 1, but arranged in a different manner on the stringers; and

projection mem- Fig. 11 shows a preferred way of attach- 7 ing the locking members to the stringers.

In Fig. 1, the stringers 1, which may be of woven tape, have twisted or braided cords 2 enclosed in the fold thereof. A plurality of locking members 3 and 4 are mounted in staggered relation on the edges of the oppo site stringers and are adapted to be engaged and disengaged by the up and down movement of the slider 5, which may be of any suitable construction.

The locking members '3 on the right-hand stringer are provided with hook-like projections, while the locking members 4 on the left-hand stringer are provided with recesses which receive and retain said projections when the fastener is closed. These locking wire blanks shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

I the member from slipping.

The wire blanks, preferably round in crosssection, are cut to the desired length and are then rolled or formed between dies which flatten and reduce the end portions .6 to about i 5 half the thickness of the central portion 7. So far, the formation is the same for both the projection and recess members.

To complete the projection member 3, the reduced end portions 6 are bent inwardly in opposite directions, each with two substantially 90 bends, as shown in Fig. 3, to form compressible clamping jaws which are adapted to be wrapped around the corded edge of the stringer. The central thickened portion 7 is bent double so that the adjacent portions on opposite sides of the bend lie close together, as shown in Fig. 4, and the doubled metal is then bent over to form a curved book like projection 8, as shown in Fig. 5. I

he jaws 6 are wrappedsecurely around the cord 2, compressing the cord and creating a slight bulge above and below the jaws, as shown in Fig. 5, which effectively prevents Since the jaws 6 are. about half thethickness of the projection 8 they do not increase the dimension of the locking memberlongitudinall of the stringer and do not diminish the exibility of the stringer. v

To complete the recess member 4, the central thickened portion 7 is bent to U-shape, thereby forming a recess 9, and the reduced end portions 6 are bent inwardly to form clamping jaws similar to those of the projection member. In attaching the recess member to the stringer the clamping jaws are wrapped around the cord 2 to overlap- Fmg position, as shown in Fig. 9, with the rec ends 10 bent in against the cord to prevent it from bulging into the recess 9.

Fig. 10 illustrates a modified arrangement of the locking members 3 and 4 upon the strin ers, the recess and projecting members eing secured conti ous one another on e same stringer wit suitable spacing between the pairs of members so that engagement will be effected in the manner illustrated. In Fig. 10 flexing of the fastener takes place between the pairs of locking membersanjd not between the contiguous locking members of each pair.

11 illustrates the preferred manner of attac ing the lockin members to the tape.

Inthis construction t e locking members are first clamped upon the cord 2, as previously described. The stringer preferably consists of woven ta e folded over, with certain war threads pul ed out or omittedat the fol leaving only the weft threads 11. The locking members, previously mounted onthe-cord 2, are then pushed through the weft threads 11 so that they project out of the fabric. The

tape is then folded over and the plies stitched together at 1-2 to form a'strong unitary 'stringerwith the parts locked firmly in place.

Among the advantages'of this invention cheaper than specially formed blanks generally employed in the art, and does not require annealing or special care in handlin Having the jaws overlap increases the hol ing power on the tape and lessens any possibility of the jaws spreading under crosswise stress on the material. By flattening the clamping jaws increased holding power is obtained without increasing the dimensions of the jaws on the tape or impairing the flexibility of the fastener. ..Reducing the thickness of the 'aws' longitudinally of the tape also lessens t eir tendency to spread and increases their stiffness.

I claim:

1. A separable fastener locking member comprising a strip of material having a central thickened portion bent upon itself with the portions adjacent the bend lying close together and bent to form a hook, said member havin end portions bent to overlap each other within a space no greater than that occupied by said hook.

2. A separable fastener locking member comprising a strip of material bent upon itself in the middle with the portions adjacent the bend lying close together and bent to form a hook, said member having end portions reduced in cross-section and bent at right anglesto form overlapping clamping jaws.

3. A separable fastener locking member comprising a strip of material which is bent upon itsel to form a central section of relatively heavy cross-section forming the interlocking portion, and attaching portions extending from said interlocking portion, said attachin portions being transverse! flattened and whereby the combined-thickness of the overlapping portions is no greater than the thickness of the interlocking portion.

14. A separable fastener comprising a pair of stringers of flexible material, locking members attached to and projecting from the edges of said stringers, certain of said looking members each comprising a strip of material having its ends bent around the edge of one of the stringers, the. opposite portions adjacent said bend being bent close together and bodily bent longitudinally of the's'tringer to form a relatively narrow hook, and other locking members providing loops in which the said hook members may be received when the fastener is locked.

- 5. A separable fastener cpmprising a pair 6 loops projecting from the edges of each ofthe strmgers, and other locking members be tween sa1d loop members on each stringer having hook-like projections interlocklng' with a loop of the adjacent member on the op osite stringer.

igned at Meadville in the county of Crawford and State of Pennsylvania, this 19th day of June, A. D. 1929;

m enmon SUNDBACK. 

